System and process for gluing fabric

ABSTRACT

A method and system applying glue to a fabric to create a bonded seam by applying a carrier liquid to a predetermined area of a first piece of fabric and in a pre-determined pattern; applying uniformly, to the first piece of fabric, particles of a powdered elastomer such that the particles of the powdered elastomer adhere to the applied carrier liquid; removing excess particles of the powdered elastomer, the excess particles of the powdered elastomer being particles of the powdered elastomer not adhering to the applied carrier liquid; applying a second piece of fabric to the predetermined area of a first piece of fabric; and curing the particles of a powdered elastomer to create a bonded seam between the first piece of fabric and the second piece of fabric.

PRIORITY INFORMATION

The present application is a divisional application of co-pending U.S.patent application Ser. No. 17/227,736, filed on Apr. 12, 2021, saidU.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/227,736, filed on Apr. 12, 2021claiming priority, under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e), from U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application Ser. No. 63/010,782, filed on Apr. 16, 2020.

The present application claims priority, under 35 U.S.C. § 120, fromU.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/227,736, filed on Apr. 12, 2021. Theentire content of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/227,736, filed onApr. 12, 2021, is hereby incorporated by reference.

The present application claims priority, under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e), fromU.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 63/010,782, filed on Apr.16, 2020. The entire content of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser.No. 63/010,782, filed on Apr. 16, 2020, is hereby incorporated byreference.

BACKGROUND

Currently, the assembling of fabric requires sewing, which is laborintensive. Due to labor intensity, the assembling of fabric can be veryexpensive in most western countries. On the other hand, if theassembling of fabric is performed in low labor cost countries, theassembling requires a long lead time due to transport constraints. Thehigh cost and/or the long lead times are not acceptable in theassembling of fabric.

One possible alternative to sewing is to “glue” the fabric together. Theability to glue fabric together would allow companies to make garmentslocally with no sewing, and low labor costs as much of the process canbe automated. This would allow manufacturing to be close the source ofdemand, shorten lead times, and enable fast response to increasinglylocal market changes.

Many industrial processes rely on gluing one component to another.Adhesives transmit stresses from one member of a joint to another with amore uniform distribution than conventional mechanical fasteners give.

Consequently, adhesives often allow structures that are mechanicallyequivalent to, or stronger than, conventional assemblies to be built atlower cost and weight.

However, for a glue to be practical in fabric assembling, the glueshould have certain characteristics, such as bond strength, bondelasticity, resistance to discoloration, and imperviousness to repeatedlaundering.

Moreover, the application of glue, in any environment, can be difficulthowever, because of its rheology.

There are six general categories of glue application techniques:dots/beads, sheet thermal transfer, spray, web coating, coating wheels,and brushes.

Dots and beads can be applied a number of conventional ways. There arehandheld guns, not unlike caulking guns and electric or pneumatic guns,which are fed by a central supply. The guns can produce stripes or bandsbetween 6 and 152 mm wide and work best when applying glue tohorizontally orientated substrates.

The speed at which the guns operate is highly dependent on the shape ofthe pattern. As the pattern increases in complexity, the speed at whichthe guns can operate decreases rapidly. Some of these guns resemble lowresolution jetting, capable of resolutions as small as 175 micrometersat speeds up to 400 mg/second.

In conventional thermal donor sheet processes, a sheet of paper iscoated with a release layer and then a glue layer to comprise a donorsheet. The completed donor sheet is trimmed into the desired shape,pressed on one side of the fabric, the paper removed, and the secondfabric is pressed on top. This conventional method has a lot of wasteand is limited in the glues that can be used.

Conventional air driven spray techniques can work with low viscosityglues, dispensing microliter to milliliter amounts, largely in roundpatterns with diameters ranging from 4.3 to 50.8 mm (0.17″ to 2.0″) andin fan patterns with widths up to 165.1 mm.

Conventional airless, pneumatic processes, which can tolerate slightlyhigher viscosities, can produce high uniformity when dose dependence iscritical but have relatively low resolution.

Conventional web applicators include slot, roller, fiberized sprays,donor sheet thermal application, and dip coating variants. Theseconventional methods have some capability for image-wise application.Depending on the variant, these conventional methods can applyrelatively thick coatings but require more maintenance as glue dries inthe apparatus.

Conventional brush applications are the lowest cost techniques, butconventional brush applications also lowers precision, uniformity, andreliability.

In these various conventional processes, there is an issue with (1) aprecise application of adhesive, (2) applying an adhesive bond inintricate patterns, and (3) applying an adhesive bond to non-planarsubstrates, both precisely and in intricate patterns.

One possible technique for realizing a precise application of a materialor an application of a material in an intricate pattern is digital inkjet architectures.

However, conventional digital ink jet architectures cannot apply gluesbecause glues tend to be fairly viscous and conventional digital ink jetarchitectures operate using materials (inks) having a low viscosity(less than 200 cp). More specifically, conventional glues have flowcharacteristics not conducive to jetting and the conventional glues tendto form long threads instead of distinct drops.

Therefore, it is desirable to provide a fabric assembling process whichrelies upon gluing instead of sewing.

Also, it is desirable to provide a fabric assembling process whichrelies upon gluing and is capable of applying the glue in a precisemanner.

Additionally, it is desirable to provide a fabric assembling processwhich relies upon gluing and is capable of applying the glue in anintricate pattern.

Furthermore, it is desirable to provide a fabric assembling processwhich relies upon gluing that incorporates a digital jettingarchitecture to provide a precise application of an adhesive.

Lastly, it is desirable to provide a fabric assembling process whichrelies upon gluing that incorporates a digital jetting architecture toprovide a precise application of an adhesive to form an intricatepattern.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

The drawings are only for purposes of illustrating various embodimentsand are not to be construed as limiting, wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates process for utilizing a digital jetting architectureto provide application of an adhesive to assemble two pieces of fabric;

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of an adhesive pattern forming a seambetween two pieces of fabric;

FIG. 3 illustrates another example of an adhesive pattern forming a seambetween two pieces of fabric;

FIG. 4 illustrates a third example of an adhesive pattern forming a seambetween two pieces of fabric;

FIG. 5 illustrates various examples of adhesive patterns that can form aseam between two pieces of fabric; and

FIG. 6 illustrates a system for applying an adhesive to assemble twopieces of fabric.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

For a general understanding, reference is made to the drawings. In thedrawings, like references have been used throughout to designateidentical or equivalent elements. It is also noted that the drawings maynot have been drawn to scale and that certain regions may have beenpurposely drawn disproportionately so that the features and conceptscould be properly illustrated.

In the following description, adhesive and glue are usedinterchangeably.

As noted above, it is desirable to utilize digital jetting architectureto apply glue to a fabric for assembling purposes; however, conventionalglues are not conducive to conventional jetting.

To resolve this issue, the application of the glue to the fabric isseparated into two distinct applications as illustrated in the method ofFIG. 1 . As illustrated in FIG. 1 , a piece of fabric is acquired instep S10.

At step S20, a liquid is applied to a predetermined area of the fabricand in a pre-determined pattern. The liquid, used in step S20, is aliquid having characteristics or properties that enable particles of apowdered elastomer to adhere thereto. In other words, the liquid, usedin step S20, is a carrier or container for the powdered elastomer sothat the adhered to powdered elastomer is kept within the predeterminedarea of the fabric and in the pre-determined pattern.

At step S30, particles of a powdered elastomer are applied uniformly tothe fabric. The particles of a powdered elastomer will adhere to thefabric where the liquid, applied in step S20, is located and not to thefabric lacking the applied liquid.

At step S40, excess particles of a powdered elastomer are removed fromthe fabric. A vacuum can be used to remove the excess particles of apowdered elastomer. Additionally, an air knife or a combination of avacuum and air knife can be used to remove the excess particles of apowdered elastomer. It is noted that the removed excess particles of apowdered elastomer can be reused.

At step S50, a second piece of fabric is applied over the first fabric,and at step S60, the particles of a powdered elastomer are activated.The particles of a powdered elastomer can be activated by heat,pressure, a solvent, light, etc., or any combination thereof.

It is noted that the fabric can be precut, in a roll, or other suchformat that is convenient.

In alternative embodiments, the patterned image can be realized byspraying the fluid over a stencil or mask, by screen printing, by needlearray, by scanning air or pneumatically controlled orifices, by air orpneumatic orifice arrays, or other such methods or devices.

It is noted that the removal of the excess powder can be realized byvacuuming; by turning the fabric over and having gravity pull the loosepowder off, by blowing the loose powder off, by adhesive rollerapplication, or by other such method.

In some cases, it may be helpful to partially melt or attach the glue tothe first fabric before the second fabric is joined in a seam. This canbe done by allowing the liquid, applied in step S20, to activate theadhesive powder, rendering the adhesive powder tacky, partially meltingthe adhesive, or partially curing the adhesive either before or afterthe removal of the powder.

The fabric to be joined to the seam may be placed on the originalfabric, and by applying heat and pressure, the glue is activated and thefabrics joined. Other adhesives may require light or other chemicals toactivate the adhesive.

It is noted that additional layers can be stacked to make multilayerseams

The method of FIG. 1 allows the patterning of the glue to control theway the seam stretches. In general, a solid line of glue will stretchless than a dotted line of glue.

The ability to control the pattern allows the user to design a gluepattern for stretch, which is parallel or perpendicular to the seam orany angle in between. Additionally, patterns can be formed to allow forstretch in all directions.

FIG. 2 shows an example of a glue pattern. As illustrated in FIG. 2 ,the fabric 10 has a glue pattern 150 upon which a seam 100 will beformed. With respect to FIG. 2 , the glue pattern 150 is a series oflines having a direction parallel to double-ended arrow B. In thisexample, the seam 100 has more stretch in the direction parallel todouble-ended arrow A, and less stretch in the direction parallel todouble-ended arrow B. In other words, the seam 100 has more stretch in adirection perpendicular to a direction of the glue pattern lines.

FIG. 3 shows another example of a glue pattern. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the fabric 20 has a glue pattern 250 upon which a seam 200 will beformed. With respect to FIG. 3 , the glue pattern 250 is a series oflines having a direction perpendicular to double-ended arrow B. In thisexample, the seam 200 has more stretch in the direction parallel todouble-ended arrow B, and less stretch in the direction parallel todouble-ended arrow A. In other words, the seam 200 has more stretch in adirection perpendicular to a direction of the glue pattern lines.

FIG. 4 shows another example of a glue pattern. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the fabric 30 has a glue pattern 350 upon which a seam 300 will beformed. With respect to FIG. 4 , the glue pattern 350 is a uniformpattern of dots of glue. In this example, the seam 300 has equal stretchin both the direction parallel to double-ended arrow B and the directionparallel to double-ended arrow A. In other words, the seam 300 has equaldirectional stretch.

FIG. 5 shows various examples of glue patterns. As illustrated in FIG. 5, the fabric 40 has a first glue pattern 451, a second glue pattern 452,a third glue pattern 453, a fourth glue pattern 454, and a fifth gluepattern 455 upon which a seam 400 can be formed.

With respect to FIG. 5 , the first glue pattern 451 is a series of lineshaving a direction parallel to double-ended arrow B. In this example,the portion of the seam 400 associated with the first glue pattern 451has more stretch in the direction parallel to double-ended arrow A, andless stretch in the direction parallel to double-ended arrow B. In otherwords, the portion of the seam 400 associated with the first gluepattern 451 has more stretch in a direction perpendicular to a directionof the glue pattern lines.

With respect to the third glue pattern 453, the third glue pattern 453is a uniform pattern of dots of glue. In this example, the portion ofthe seam 400 associated with the third glue pattern 453 has equalstretch in both the direction parallel to double-ended arrow B and thedirection parallel to double-ended arrow A. In other words, the seam 400associated with the third glue pattern 453 has equal directionalstretch.

With respect to the fifth glue pattern 455, the fifth glue pattern 455is a series of lines having a direction perpendicular to double-endedarrow B. In this example, the portion of the seam 400 associated withthe fifth glue pattern 455 has more stretch in the direction parallel todouble-ended arrow B, and less stretch in the direction parallel todouble-ended arrow A. In other words, the portion of the seam 400associated with the fifth glue pattern 455 has more stretch in adirection perpendicular to a direction of the glue pattern lines.

With respect to the second glue pattern 452, the second glue pattern 452is a series of lines having a direction perpendicular to double-endedarrow C. In this example, the portion of the seam 400 associated withthe second glue pattern 452 has more stretch in the direction parallelto double-ended arrow C, and less stretch in the direction perpendicularto double-ended arrow C. In other words, the portion of the seam 400associated with the second glue pattern 452 has more stretch in adirection perpendicular to a direction of the glue pattern lines.

With respect to the fourth glue pattern 454, the fourth glue pattern 454is a series of lines having a direction perpendicular to double-endedarrow D. In this example, the portion of the seam 400 associated withthe fourth glue pattern 454 has more stretch in the direction parallelto double-ended arrow D, and less stretch in the direction perpendicularto double-ended arrow D. In other words, the portion of the seam 400associated with the fourth glue pattern 454 has more stretch in adirection perpendicular to a direction of the glue pattern lines.

It is noted additional glue patterns are possible, such as, zig-zag gluepatterns, curvilinear glue patterns, fractal glue patterns, and manyother glue patterns can be used to provide directionally appropriaterigidity and stretch characteristics.

FIG. 6 illustrates a system 500 for applying an adhesive to assemble twopieces of fabric. As illustrated in FIG. 6 , a piece of fabric 520 ispositioned on a transport system 510. The transport system 510 may be aconveyor belt, a web, or other system that is capable of moving thepiece of fabric 520 from station to station.

It is noted that although FIG. 6 illustrates a system wherein the pieceof fabric 520 is moved from station to station, the system can berealized with the piece of fabric 520 being stationary and the stationsare moved into position.

As illustrated in FIG. 6 , the piece of fabric 520 is moved to the gluecarrier station 530.

The glue carrier station 530 applies a carrier liquid (not shown) to apredetermined area of the fabric 520 and in a pre-determined pattern.The carrier liquid is a liquid having characteristics or properties thatenable particles of a powdered elastomer (glue), applied by glue powderstation 540, to adhere thereto. In other words, the carrier liquid,applied by the glue carrier station 530, is a carrier or container for apowdered elastomer, applied by glue powder station 540, so that theapplied powdered elastomer is kept within the predetermined area of thefabric 520 and in the pre-determined pattern.

The patterned image of the carrier liquid, created by the glue carrierstation 530, can be realized by spraying the fluid over a stencil ormask, by screen printing, by needle array, by scanning air orpneumatically controlled orifices, by air or pneumatic orifice arrays,jetting of the carrier liquid, or other such methods or devices.

After the carrier liquid is applied to the fabric 520, the piece offabric 520 is moved to the glue powder station 540.

As noted above, the glue powder station 540 applies particles of apowdered elastomer (not shown) uniformly to the fabric 520. Theparticles of a powdered elastomer will adhere to the fabric where thecarrier liquid is applied and not to the fabric 520 lacking the appliedcarrier liquid.

After the particles of a powdered elastomer are applied to the fabric520, the piece of fabric 520 is moved to the glue powder removal station550.

At the glue powder removal station 550, excess particles of the powderedelastomer are removed from the fabric 520. The glue powder removalstation 550 may use a vacuum to remove the excess particles of thepowdered elastomer. Additionally, the glue powder removal station 550may use an air knife or a combination of a vacuum and air knife toremove the excess particles of the powdered elastomer. It is noted thatthe removed excess particles of the powdered elastomer can be reused.

After the excess particles of the powdered elastomer are removed fromthe fabric 520, the piece of fabric 520 is moved to the second fabricstation 560.

At the second fabric station 560, a second piece of fabric (not shown)is applied over the first fabric 520.

After the second piece of fabric is applied over the first fabric 520,the two pieces of fabric are moved to the glue curing station 570.

At the glue curing station 570, the particles of the powdered elastomerare activated (glue cured). The particles of the powdered elastomer canbe activated by heat, pressure, a solvent, light, etc., or anycombination thereof.

After the particles of the powdered elastomer are activated (gluecured), the system 500 outputs two pieces of seamed fabric 580.

It is noted that the fabric 520 can be precut, in a roll, or other suchformat that is convenient.

It is noted that the removal of the excess powder can be realized byvacuuming; by turning the fabric over and having gravity pull the loosepowder off, by blowing the loose powder off, by adhesive rollerapplication, or by other such method.

In some cases, it may be helpful to partially melt or attach the glue tothe first fabric before the second fabric is joined in a seam. This canbe done by allowing the carrier liquid to activate the adhesive powder,rendering the adhesive powder tacky, partially melting the adhesive, orpartially curing the adhesive either before or after the removal of thepowder.

The fabric to be joined to the seam may be placed on the originalfabric, and by applying heat and pressure, the glue is activated and thefabrics joined. Other adhesives may require light or other chemicals toactivate the adhesive.

It is noted that additional layers can be stacked to make multilayerseams

The system of FIG. 6 allows the patterning of the glue to control theway the seam stretches. In general, a solid line of glue will stretchless than a dotted line of glue. The ability to control the patternallows the user to design a glue pattern for stretch, which is parallelor perpendicular to the seam or any angle in between. Additionally,patterns can be formed to allow for stretch in all directions.

As discussed above, the system of FIG. 6 allows patterning of the glueto control the way the seam stretches. In general, a solid line of gluewill stretch less than a dotted or broken line of glue.

The system of FIG. 6 allows a user to design a glue pattern for aparticular stretch characteristic, such as parallel or perpendicular tothe seam or any angle in between. Additionally, as noted above, gluepatterns can allow for stretch in all directions.

Moreover, the system of FIG. 6 allows seams to be printed on curves withthe glue pattern shifting to maintain desired stretch characteristics.

The glue pattern can also be modified as necessary to improve theadhesion between the materials being joined. For example, some seams mayrequire bigger spots, some smaller. The glue itself can be changed tofit the materials being joined. Since the glue is applied as a powder,the process enables a wide range of types of glues and adhesives to beused.

Although the above-described process has been described in connectionwith fabric and garment applications, it is noted that theabove-described process may also be applicable in many manufacturingfields.

For example, the joining of non-porous substrates (metal to metal, metalto plastic, metal to ceramic, ceramic to ceramic, . . . ) to poroussubstrates (nonwoven or woven fabrics to metals or ceramics, . . . ) allcan be simplified using the above-described process.

Additionally, the above-described process can be applied to threedimensional formed objects. In processing three dimensional formedobjects, the fluid jetted to define the ink (liquid) image can be a gelink (liquid) or an ink (liquid) with other rheology appropriate to allowthe ink (liquid) to retain its pattern even when applied to a verticalsurface.

It will be appreciated that variations of the above-disclosedembodiments and other features and functions, or alternatives thereof,may be desirably combined into many other different systems orapplications. Also, various presently unforeseen or unanticipatedalternatives, modifications, variations, or improvements therein may besubsequently made by those skilled in the art which are also intended tobe encompassed by the description above.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for applying glue to a fabric,comprising: a glue carrier station for applying a carrier liquid to apredetermined area of a first piece of fabric and in a pre-determinedpattern; a glue powder station for applying uniformly, to the firstpiece of fabric, particles of a powdered elastomer such that theparticles of the powdered elastomer adhere to the applied carrierliquid; a glue powder removal station for removing excess particles ofthe powdered elastomer, the excess particles of the powdered elastomerbeing particles of the powdered elastomer not adhering to the appliedcarrier liquid; a second fabric station for applying a second piece offabric to the predetermined area of a first piece of fabric; and a gluecuring station for curing the particles of a powdered elastomer tocreate a bonded seam between the first piece of fabric and the secondpiece of fabric.
 2. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said gluepowder removal station removes said excess particles of the powderedelastomer using a vacuum.
 3. The system as claimed in claim 1, whereinsaid glue powder removal station removes said excess particles of thepowdered elastomer using an air knife.
 4. The system as claimed in claim1, wherein said glue curing station cures said particles of a powderedelastomer using heat.
 5. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein saidglue curing station cures said particles of a powdered elastomer usingpressure.
 6. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said glue curingstation cures said particles of a powdered elastomer using a solvent. 7.The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said glue curing station curessaid particles of a powdered elastomer using light.
 8. The system asclaimed in claim 1, wherein said pre-determined pattern enables stretchin a direction parallel to the bonded seam between the first piece offabric and the second piece of fabric.
 9. The system as claimed in claim1, wherein said pre-determined pattern enables stretch in a directionperpendicular to the bonded seam between the first piece of fabric andthe second piece of fabric.
 10. The system as claimed in claim 1,wherein said pre-determined pattern enables stretch in a directionnon-perpendicular and non-parallel to the bonded seam between the firstpiece of fabric and the second piece of fabric.